Gordon confident of reclaiming spot

22 August 2011 06:30

Craig Gordon has backed himself to reclaim the gloves for both Scotland and Sunderland once he has fully recovered from injury.

The goalkeeper, 28, is battling back to fitness following knee surgery in April, having also seen his time at the Stadium of Light hampered by a previous knee problem and a broken arm.

Gordon has refused to set any deadlines for his return to action but is confident he will be good enough to force his way back into the top team for both club and country, saying: "I think everybody will be looking at me when I come back from injury to see what effect it's had on me. So I'll come back and try to prove myself all over again, the same as you do when you first come into the team."

He added: "There never seems to be any point in your career where you stop proving yourself and that is actually a bit of a motivation for me to come back and prove to everybody that I've still got it and that these injuries haven't taken any toll on me, that I can get back to doing what I was doing before and come back fitter and stronger and get back out there and play."

Gordon is out of contract at Sunderland at the end of the season but discussions over a new deal have yet to get underway and he has not held talks with boss Steve Bruce over his future.

He said: "He's not spoken to me about that. I'll just concentrate on getting myself fit and try to make it impossible for him to leave me out.

"I'll just get back and do the things I was doing when I was fully fit. If I can do that, I'm confident my abilities can get me back in the team and playing well. Once I get back playing, I'm confident that my abilities can get me back into the Scotland team as well."

Sunderland recruited Kieran Westwood in the summer, while Simon Mignolet has been between the sticks for their opening two Barclays Premier League games.

Gordon added: "It's not a concern. Once I get fit, there is good competition there but, as a professional footballer, I back myself and I back my own abilities.

"If I can get back into training and train well, I don't see any reason why I won't be picked to play in the first team."